William A. "Bill" Trulove Jr.

July 30, 1936 - December 7, 2022

William A. "Bill" Trulove passed away December 7, 2022 in Casa Grande. He was 86.

Bill was the son of William A. "Mutt" Trulove Sr. and Rosalie Ludwig Trulove Chamberlain, Mr. Trulove was born on July 30, 1936, at the home of his grandmother Rollie Day and great-uncle William T. Day Jr., at First and Sacaton streets. He attended Central School and Casa Grande Union High School, graduating in 1955. He was an outstanding football player and received a football scholarship to Arizona State College in Flagstaff for the 1955-56 season. He joined the Navy in the summer of 1956 and served about the USS Warrick. He returned to Casa Grande in 1958 and began his public service career as a police officer with the Coolidge Police Department and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Stanfield.

He moved on to the Safford area and was a guard at the state detention center for boys. He taught many children to swim at the Safford pool over several years. He later worked in the Tucson area and then Lakeshore Mine south of Casa Grande. He used his GI Bill to obtain a private pilot's certificate in 1973 and excelled in aviation, owning several planes over the years. He taught many students to be pilots. He was president of his company Sunbird Aviation and was chief operational director at Casa Grande Municipal Airport for 10 years. He retired after having a stroke in 2005. He enjoyed gardening.

Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Clara; three daughters, Robin Stephens, Wendy Taylor and Tabetha Escalante of Casa Grande; two sons, William A. Trulove III of Sierra Vista and Glen Trulove of Leander, Texas; 12 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Stacia Claborn; a sister, Sandy; and a great-granddaughter, Brooklynn Trulove.

Graveside service at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15, in Mountain View Cemetery.